Liverpool winger, Mohamed Salah, barely played at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The 31-year-old only scored one goal, as his tournament was ended by a hamstring injury during a 2-2 draw with Ghana in the group stages.
Salah then flew back to the UK to begin an “intensive rehabilitation programme.”
That led to him returning for the Reds as they thrashed Brentford 4-1 in the Premier League last weekend. Salah scored one and laid the assist for Alexis MacAllister’s goal.
Although Salah missed the 3-1 win over Luton Town in midweek, he is expected to be fit for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea.
The Egyptian’s trophy haul is quite something. During his time at Anfield, he has won the Premier League, Carabao Cup, FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield.
There is one that is conspicuously missing: The AFCON.
Salah finds himself in the company of African football legends like Didier Drogba, Kanu Nwankwo and Emmanuel Adebayor, who played for the biggest clubs and won the biggest prizes. Except the AFCON.
What are the legacies of players like these?
“Their legacy remains that they are great players for their various clubs and countries,” Wale Agbede, the Head of Sports at Plus TV, tells DAILY POST.
“Drogba, for instance, played for Ivory Coast at the World Cup. Scored many goals for them in qualifiers and reached the AFCON. The same goes for Salah, who also lost an AFCON final to Senegal. Even Kanu lost in the final too to Cameroon.
“Consider Kanu. He was already a folk hero from 1996 when Nigerian won the Olympic Gold in Atlanta. So people love him.
“Maybe apart from Salah, players like Kanu and Drogba inspired the followership of certain European clubs in Africa.
“Not winning the AFCON has not necessarily changed any perception.”
A few factors could contribute to a top player winning abroad and missing out on continental glory.
“There are different things. Quality of teams, team-mates, luck, etc. With cup competitions, you have to be very lucky.
“For Salah with Egypt, I don’t think he played in the best era of Egyptian football. If he played with Aboutreka and Mohamed Zidane, Salah would have won the AFCON.
“If you go to Liverpool, Salah has played during one of the most successful eras at Anfield,” Agbede adds.
Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, played his first full AFCON tournament this year and scored only once in seven matches.
Osimhen’s 26 goals in 32 league appearances fired the Serie A club to the title last year.
On his return to the starting XI in midweek, the Super Eagles superstar grabbed the equalizer as they drew 1-1 with Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 first leg.
A lot of fans and pundits were expecting Osimhen to lead Nigeria to gold in Ivory Coast, but he wasn’t quite able to, as the team fell short in the final.
It has led to debates that he could be one of the greats to miss out on an AFCON.
Agbede said: “It’s always a possibility for every player.
“If he doesn’t enjoy any success with Nigeria, then Nigeria will not enjoy any success in the foreseeable future.
“The real question is if he achieves more success on club level. Even though Napoli won the Scudetto last season, they are on the decline. If he stays with Napoli, you question if he will win another title.
“You suspect he will move on to a bigger team this summer. But you cannot guarantee success with any club.
“But for the national team, he obviously just missed out on an AFCON. The team is young and has room for growth. Who knows – in subsequent competitions, if they get the rub of the green in the draws, they could go all the way.”
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